Feli Lopez, The Unique All Time Great

Feliciano Lopez has not won a major, he’s never been world no. 1, but he holds a special distinction that Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras, Novak Djokovic, Andre Agassi have not come close to equaling.

Lopez has played in 69 consecutive Grand Slam main draws and Wimbledon next week will be 70.

Lopez played his first major in 2001 vs Carlos Moya at Roland Garros, then missed Wimbledon and US Open and 2002 AO (did not play qualies) but resumed Grand Slam play at Roland Garros in 2002 and hasn’t stopped since.

Lopez qualified at 2002 Roland Garros and beat Didac Perez of Spain in the first round of main draw 46 64 62 46 64. That was his first major main draw win. Lopez lost second round to Tommy Haas, who was no. 3 in the world at the time 36 46 46. Lopez was just 20.

Fast forward seventeen years later to 2019 and Lopez is still a force in the ATP. Yesterday he won the Queens Club singles and doubles titles with another marathon display or Iron Man tennis.

On Saturday, Lopez won his singles semi 64 in the third set against 18 year old Felix Auger-Aliassime and then won two doubles matches that were postponed by rain.

Yesterday Lopez, apparently immune from feeling fatigue, won the singles final 62 67 76 and then the doubles final with Andy Murray 76 57 10-5 vs Salisbury/Ram.

Lopez is still listed to play the Eastbourne main draw first round this week and Hugues-Herbert.

With his stunning Queens success last week, Lopez upped his ranking from 105 to 53 and will be presumably be given a wildcard into Wimbledon main draw next week, which will be his 70th major in a row. Or his ranking was good enough at the cut off date.

Regardless Lopez will continue to add to his unbreakable iron man record of 70 straight majors, an achievement that will surely never be matched. Making Lopez one of the most unique champions in the history of tennis – and a possible Hall of Fame candidate for this special distinction, along with his overall career of outstanding successes, which includes a Roland Garros doubles title.

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72 comments

You putting him in the HOF, next to Rios, Ferrer, and all the other non deserving.

Its easier to play 69 straight Majors, when you’re losing in the first or second round. Guys that go deep in Masters, and Majors every event, have a much harder time staying healthy. If there ever was an irrelevant “ record” this might be it. 30 QF in a row at Majors is way better

Fitness and dedication beyond belief. This guy’s longevity is hall of fame calibre. I believe any player who achieves something that Fed Rafa and Djokovic and Sampras and Agassi never came close to achieving, belongs in the hall of fame. They all said Lendl and Navratilova were fitness legends but they never came close to this Lopez record. Think about it Harold, F Lo has not missed a major since 2002. And he’s still going strong at 37 in 2019.

What struck me about Lopez over the last few days was how much he was enjoying playing; he played with real gusto, although he had to be exhausted by the time he reached the doubles final. I didn’t think he would continue playing after becoming the director for Madrid, but he shows no sign of retiring, and after what he accomplished at Queen’s, why should he?

Only player in tennis history, male or female, to play in 70 majors in a row spanning 2002 to 2019. Unbreakable record. Fedalkovic were not strong enough or durable enough to do what Lopez is doing. Borg, considered a physical freak, played SEVEN major main draws in a row. That’s it. One tenth of F-Lo. Jim “The Rock” Courier … 27 majors in a row. Jimmy Connors…THREE majors in a row. Ivan Lendl…16 majors in a row. Feliciano Lopez…70. Harold, I will buy you a Newport ticket for Lopez induction 🙂

Hartt, I think Lopez was extra motivated to play with Andy Murray and the atmosphere sparked him with an extra kick and fire. He responded with his best tennis. It’s too bad Murpez do not continue together, they obviously have a good chemistry of skills and personalities.

Look at really good players like Brian Baker and Christian Harrison and Guga Kuerten whose bodies fell apart. Yet somehow this old man Lopez keeps going strong. People like Harold take what he is doing for granted, no big deal. Age 37 and he just won singles and doubles of Queens. In stunning fashion too, beating top shelf players.

When you put Ch. Harrison in the same sentence, you can’t be taken seriously. Know your history. Borg, and most others didn’t go to Aus. Probably all regret not going now, could’ve piled up more Majors. Wilander won 2 Grass Slams when he was 18, and 19 years old. Did beat Mac, and Lendl along the way, Kriek, your boy, won his Majors there.

Andreescu is going to miss her second major in a row now with this rotator cuff injury. She is still under age 20. Lopez has never missed one single major since 2002 because of any injury and he is 37. Lopez streak would extend to 2001 but he missed three majors because his ranking was too low and he elected to play other tournaments instead of qualies.

Scoop – I can’t see the point of comparing Bianca Andreescu with Lopez. Many players have missed major tournaments with injuries. Lopez has just been extremely lucky. Bianca is just extremely unlucky. It’s a certain kind of achievement for Lopez but I don’t see it qualifies him for H of F. Maybe a special prize for persistance. And a good genetic inheritance.

Borg retired early. He didn’t want to play until he was 37, GSs or no. Irrelevant comparison. Seems to me just playing in a tournament isn’t enough. Great players win them.

It’s indeed devastating news about Bianca. Just as we thought a new young player had arrived to restore lustre to the WTA – she’s gone again. And I can’t see pounding on hard courts post W’don is going to help her recovery.

Well, Lopez just won two titles in one day. And maybe he’s a contender to win Wimbledon 🙂 If playing with Murray didn’t take too much out of his gas tank. I think people are undervaluing how incredible it is to play 70 majors in a row, he’s never missed one except for low ranking early in his career. I don’t think Hall of Fame should only be about winning majors and winning matches, it should also be about special achievements and playing incredible unforgettable tennis, like Isner and Mahut should be in for that one match alone. Why should the measure of a Hall of Fame player only be winning major titles? Why should it be limited and restricted to that? Everyone talks about the benefits of diversity, why is there no diversity in the qualifications to be elected to the Hall of Fame? Are historian writers like Bud Collins and Steve Flink really deserving to be in the HOF? If so, why not Lopez Isner Mahut Rios?

Simona has just said she will no longer play Fed Cup if the home/away structure is removed, as seems likely. Haggerty is going to announce this change shortly. He’s spouting about ‘gender equality’ and making tennis ‘a wlcoming sport’. Huh ? May have slipped Haggerty’s mind, or maybe no one has reminded him, but the Fed Cup began as a one site event, then changed to home and away and then back again to one site. This was a less than rousing sucess so…….

Men may get away with losing the original Davis Cup structure but I’ve a feeling the Fed Cup will flounder. Will the whole event be played in the US ? If not, where ? China ? The whole business is disgraceful.

If anyone doubts the vitality of the home/away Fed Cup they should look on YTube for the 2014 Germany/Czech R tie in Prague – won by the Czechs. Kvitova bt Kerber in the deciding match. Petra says it is one match she will always remember. Martina was there too – on the CR benches.

The ITF will make another stupid decision and change the Fed Cup structure. I doubt that the new DC will be arousing success, and if it isn’t there won’t be a way to bring it back.

Was very glad to hear Simona speak out. She is right – there is nothing like a home game. I was lucky enough to see the DC tie here in Toronto last fall and I will never forget the electric atmosphere.

Cornet downs Svitolina in the battle of La Monf exes. Svitolina sure has tumbled since the break up. Hsieh could be the iron woman of tennis, she has stayed healthy lately but has had foot ankle problems in the past. Gauff and Osuigwe are playing Wimby qualies, two teens to keep an eye on. Caty McNally another US teen, won today too.

Sloane’s serve seems a bit wonky. Really let her down. Penko made 40 UEs and hit 14 dfs but won on her returns in the last 2 sets.

Eastbourne is funny – maybe the one tournament it’s better to lose than win. And everyone’s tiptoeing around terrified of injury. I saw Steffi play here the year of her Grand Slam. She beat Helena Sukova.

Another player I feel deserves HOF consideration is Nico Massu for winning OLY gold in singles and doubles in 2004, the only man in history to do it, the first medals in the history of Chile in the OLY. This remarkable achievement should not be forgotten but celebrated.

Slight tear in rotator cuff is an injury I had years ago. I tried to reflex volley an overhead slam back and it was a heavy slam and it tore my rotator cuff. Could not play for months. I told a friend about it and he suggested I apply apple cider vinegar daily on the shoulder. Also to wrap it in brown paper bag, the combination of the properties of the bag and ACV helped to heal the injury supposedly. Well it did, took a few months but it healed and I got full range of motion back, no surgery needed. The remedy came from Renaldo Snipes who boxed Larry Holmes for the world heavyweight title in 1982. Snipes is a friend and he has a lot of homeopathic remedies like ACV. I commented this remedy on Andreescu’s instagram. Hope she sees it and it helps.

Thanks Harold that was a nice read. Interesting the part about still having big respect for the media early on in his career but not sure if he still has the same regard for the media by his wording. Could easily see him winning the title if he can evade Djokovic.

Nice job by me winning another parlay, taking Dan Evans to beat Albot and Simon to beat Sandgren. Why? The bet would have been voided had Simon pulled out which was expected after reaching the Queens final. So there wasn’t much risk. I knew if he played he would win since Sandgren is honestly an overrated bum with no skills as the results have proven. Evans was always going to beat Albot.

Now I am taking Fritz to knock off Pella and Hurkasz to crush Johnson. Thwe logic is simple – Pella is horrible on grass and Hurkasz is only a slight favorite over a player who is slumping badly

There – I told you. Ashleigh B obviously pulled a sickie so she could get a free pass to Lord’s to watch Aus in their favourite sport – bashing the Poms at cricket. Fortunately for Ash’s W’don R & R the team didn’t need to call on her services 🙂

Scoop, I wonder if “respect” was the best translation for what Roger said about the media. Perhaps it was more that he felt intimidated by them, because the complete quote is: “At first I still had enormous respect towards the media and thought what the people would think about me. But I got used to it very quickly.” I think the key is that he worried about what people would think. But that is no longer the case.

Hartt, Fed can slip up in interviews. Mary Joe interviewed him on ESPN right after he won Cincy one year and she asked about US Open and Fed kind of gave a smile/smirk and said “…the craziness of New York.” This was on live TV. It sounded like a modified version of John Rocker’s view of New York. Fed quickly realized his gaffe and then talked about how much he loved New York yada yada. But if Kyrgios or Tsitsipas equated craziness and New York the media might have made an issue of it and raked them over the coals. Maybe Fed had another one of those moments in this German interview. Can’t say the perfect answers 100% of the time.

Well – at last. Sabalenka bt Wozniaki in 3 sets. Will this be a turning point for Aryna ? If not, at least it shows some application and perseverance – qualities which have been missing from Sabalenka’s game for a while.

Scoop, we’ve talked about how the folks at Tennis Canada tried to keep FAA under wraps as much as possible, to allow him time to develop out of the spotlight. Tom Tebbutt confirms that in a lengthy piece he did yesterday about Felix on the Tennis Canada site. Of course, with the youngster’s success so far this season, the cat is out of the bag about his talent and potential.

“The brain-trust at Tennis Canada’s National Tennis Centre in Montreal – headed by vice-president elite athlete development Louis Borfiga – has purposely been careful about protecting their prize prospect. They were aware of his exceptional talent and did all they could in the early days to make sure he wasn’t distracted or overwhelmed by too much outside attention.

It worked for a while but when, at 15, he was the runner-up (after having three match points in the final) in the 2016 French Open junior boys event, it was getting harder to keep a lid on things. Then he won the US Open junior boys title later that summer a month after his 16th birthday – putting him at the forefront of the most promising young players in the world alongside good friend Denis Shapovalov, who was 2016 Wimbledon junior boys champion.”

And, before you say anything about it, NO the US cannot have Louis Borgiga. 🙂

Tennis Canada is making all the right moves up there in Louies office. Hartt you probably have nothing to worry about, the usta likely has no idea who Borfiga is and the sport altering work he’s done. Unless the usta brass reads tennis-prose I don’t see them getting the idea to steal Borfiga on their own. Usta seems to overpromote their young stars instead of keeping them under wraps. I’ve seen the publications listing each noteworthy junior with photo and achievements and it’s a mistake, most don’t pan out. I doubt Borfiga is making such a publication touting and celebrating its top juniors.

Scoop, I think you are right about Tennis Canada not making a big fuss about the junior players. Occasionally there will be something on their web site or on their twitter, but it is pretty low key. The one exception is Leylah Annie Fernandez, who is not part of the Tennis Canada program, although she does receive some assistance from them, including a Tennis Canada coach on occasion. But her early success as a junior would be hard to keep under wraps in this day and age.

I think the the thing to stress with promising juniors is their potential, realising that not all young players are successful in the long run. So it is not a good idea to put too much emphasis on what they achieve as juniors. I have some concerns about Fernandez in that regard, but she does have real potential.